AGA KHAN FOUNDATION

2014 Request for Research Proposals (RFP) Strengthening Education Systems in East Africa (SESEA) Thematic Priorities: Teaching and Learning, Teacher Development, School Management and Leadership, Parent and Community Involvement, and Education Systems KEY DEADLINES RFP Release Date Receipt of questions deadline Response (or webinar #1) to questions Expression of Interest Deadline Notification for full proposals to shortlisted Response (or webinar #2) to questions deadline Submission of full proposals deadline Award notification Beginning of actual implementation Submission of final research deliverables

September 22nd, 2014 October 6th, 2014 October 20th, 2014 November 24th 2014 January 5th, 2015 January 19th, 2015 March 2nd, 2015 April 6th, 2015 May 4th, 2015 March 31, 2017

Details of the research requirements, funding and application process is found in this document.

STRENGTHENING EDUCATION SYSTEMS IN EAST AFRICA (SESEA) FUNDING OPPORTUNITY FOR RESEARCH IN EAST AFRICA 1.0 PURPOSE The Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC), together with specialized agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), is implementing a five-year project titled Strengthening Education Systems in East Africa (SESEA). The project is designed to strengthen teacher education and support systems to improve and sustain learning outcomes in literacy and numeracy for girls and boys in preprimary and primary school levels in target areas of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda1. Through its research agenda, SESEA’s aim at a strategic level is to foster learning and constructive dialogue that contributes to relevant, evidence-informed policy practices to improve the effectiveness of education initiatives in East Africa. It is also anticipated that SESEA-led research processes should enhance research capacity development among local institutions in the region. To achieve its vision for research, SESEA will avail funds for research studies in five thematic areas with a focus on pre-primary and primary education under its project implementation framework. These thematic areas include: teaching and learning, teacher development, school management and leadership, parent and community involvement, and education systems.

2.0 AVAILABLE FUNDING AND RESEARCH STUDY DURATION The SESEA research initiative has CAD $1.8 million to be awarded as research grants at two levels of funding indicated below. All studies as well as agreed upon deliverables including advocacy and information dissemination materials must be completed by March 31, 2017. Further details on each level of funding is indicated below: 

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Level 1: Funding of up to CAD $60,000 to CAD $100,000 per project. Projects should address at least one thematic area. Funds may be used for innovative, exploratory or proof of concept related to improving system-level policies and interventions that support teaching and learning in pre-primary and primary education in at least one of the following countries: Kenya, Uganda, or Tanzania. Level 2: Funding of above CAD $100,000 to CAD $500,000 per project. Projects must address more than one thematic areas involving at least one of the following countries: Kenya, Uganda, or Tanzania. Additionally, projects proposed for this level of funding should meet at least two of the following criteria: o System Impact: Research has the potential to be catalytic or instrumental in improving systemlevel policies and interventions that support teaching and learning in pre-primary and primary education across diverse East African contexts. o School Impact: Research can lead to substantial improvements in pre-primary and primary school level practices that support children’s learning and development across diverse East African contexts. o Student Impact: Research is likely to lead to substantial improvements in preschool and primary boy’s and girls’ learning and development outcomes in diverse East African contexts.

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In Kenya, SESEA activities are implemented in the Coastal Region, including Kwale, Kilifi and Mombasa Counties. In Uganda, the project implementation is concentrated in the West Nile region, covering the districts of Koboko, Yumbe and Arua. In Tanzania, the project is delivered to communities in the Southern districts including Lindi Rural, Nachingwea and Kilwa. While beneficiaries and trainees normally come from the target areas, professional development courses are occasionally located at other sites, such as the AKU-IED campus in Dar es Salaam.

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Policy dialogue using the research products developed through this call for proposals will be coordinated through SESEA’s Project Coordinating Unit in Nairobi between April 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017. Applicants are encouraged to demonstrate feasible strategies and timelines for meaningful utilization of their research products.

3.0 BACKGROUND Drawing on the capacities of various Aga Khan Development Network agencies2, and taking advantage of regional scale and synergies, SESEA aims to contribute to its intended outcomes by investing at different levels of the education systems in the three East African countries through three complementary components. Component I: Professional development of educators. SESEA aims to develop skilled and competent teachers at the pre-primary and primary levels in target areas of East Africa by introducing new accredited programs for training educators; creating opportunities for uncertified teachers to obtain government recognition and providing high quality professional development opportunities to educators at the preprimary and primary levels through graduate degree and certificate programs. Component II: Strengthening of education support systems and institutions. SESEA aims to build accountable leadership, management and technical capacity in education systems by providing professional development and support to district and provincial education managers, head teachers, tutors, quality assurance officers, deputy head teachers of schools and principals of teacher training colleges. SESEA also works to strengthen community-based support systems and provides ongoing support and mentoring to teachers and head teachers through a School Improvement Program (SIP). Component III: Learning and dialogue. SESEA aims to amplify its impact by creating a regionally relevant, high-quality knowledge base on key pre-primary and primary education issues of policy and practice in order to stimulate debate, shape policy, contribute to project learning and improve the effectiveness of education programs in East Africa. SESEA proposes to do this by supporting research studies; creating user friendly summary reports and policy briefs; stimulating and encouraging policy dialogue with/and amongst governments and key education stakeholders; and capitalizing on opportunities to strengthen and expand country and regional collaboration and cooperation. The 3 components are designed to be mutually reinforcing and interactive in order to effectively achieve long-term sustainable results. It is estimated that SESEA will reach 187,344 direct beneficiaries (of which 95,823 are women and girls) and 6,298 (3,055 women) intermediary beneficiaries in target areas in Kenya (67,336), Tanzania (69,515) and Uganda (50,493) over the life of the project. This includes 9,180 preprimary and primary educators and 3,150 other key members of the education support system (for example, key resource team members, head teachers, and faculty from teacher training colleges).

4.0 WHO CAN APPLY Proposals are sought from researchers globally and at varying levels in their careers. Researchers must be affiliated with a university, agency, or research center with past demonstrated research experience with low and middle income countries (LMIC). Principal Investigators should preferably have a PhD, with at least five (5) years of post-doctorate research experience or an education and/or a research professional 2

These include: Aga Khan Foundation East Africa, Aga Khan University- Institute for Educational Development East Africa, Aga Khan Academies, and Aga Khan Educational Services.

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degree, or other relevant professional qualifications. Alternatively, the team nominated to conduct the research should have at least one team member with a PhD and at least five (5) years of relevant post doctorate research experience. Applicants should have a record of securing research grants and publishing the results.

Partnerships Researcher partnerships or collaborations between researchers within the three East African countries and researchers outside of the countries are encouraged. In addition, researchers need to establish close working relationships with field program implementation teams already working in these countries. Partnerships that include the following types of institutions or individuals are preferred:  LMIC research partner (research institution, university or other)  Canadian or other high-income country (HIC) research partner (research institution, university or other)  Registered local or international NGO or CSO (AKDN or non-AKDN) actively implementing activities in the 3 East African Countries Partnerships must be formed and in place at the point of submission of the Expression of Interest (EOI).

5.0 PRINCIPLES AND PRIORITIES OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT General Principles It is crucial that all research proposals demonstrate aspects 1-7 indicated under this section below in a substantive manner. 1. Plans to exclusively collect empirical primary data in one or more of the East African countries, but demonstrate opportunities and methods for comparative analysis within the region; 2. Research should focus on activities/programs that are already underway. Consideration of SESEA activities in the region is encouraged. Funding will not be provided for the development of new programs or implementation of programs. 3. Consider the diversity of opportunities and contexts for capacity building of individuals or AKDN agencies within the region as a part of the proposed research especially during the collaborations stated above. Capacity-building elements should be set out in relation to the core intellectual agenda of the research proposal and not treated separately; the focus should be on the quality and impact of the research, and how increasing research capacity contributes to this; 4. Relevance to decision makers and practitioners in the East African region; 5. Consider application of a broad range of inter and/or multi-disciplinary perspectives, frameworks, epistemologies and methodologies; 6. Potential impacts of the research on policy and practice, and how these can be maximized and developed; 7. Demonstration of strategies for gender-responsive research, and how researchers plan to identify and interrogate salient gender issues; and 8. Cognizant of the other structural inequalities, including those based on age, special needs, ethnicity, race, religion, class, educational status and spatial factors.

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Themes SESEA’s research priorities have been identified through: (a) review of project and related East Africa education documents; (b) rapid reviews of pre-primary and primary education research literature in five domains (teaching and learning, teacher development, school management and leadership, parent and community development, and education systems); and (c) development of a research agenda and identification of priority research questions under each domain. Indicated below are the recommended research priorities per domain, the specific research questions, for each domain, have been included in this call in annex A. 1. Teaching and Learning  Contextual adaptation of effective teaching methods to East African primary education contexts  The identification and removal of barriers to access of students who are marginalized due to gender, ethnicity, poverty, location, language or special needs. 2. Teacher Development  Policies, working conditions and other contextual factors that affect teacher recruitment, deployment, commitment and professionalism in the workplace.  Developing the expertise of teacher educators in ways that (a) address the practical challenges of teachers in East African primary school classrooms, and (b) are consistent with pedagogical practices promoted in national and local curriculum and teaching initiatives.  Effective and promising approaches to initial teacher education adapted to East African contexts, including strategies that are field-based and that use various distance learning systems  The implementation, costs, impact and scaling up of innovative strategies for in-service teacher development  Increasing the presence of well-trained female teachers and other underrepresented groups in order to improve the representativeness of teachers to school communities.  Establishment, implementation and outcomes of teacher evaluation and incentives systems that are linked to developing teacher capacity  Effectiveness of mainstream or alternative professional development strategies for pre-primary education workers 3. School Management and Leadership  Effective East African primary school leaders situated in different school contexts  Obstacles to effective school leadership and management in varying school contexts  Characteristics and outcomes of effective and sustainable strategies and systems for school leader development (initial and continuing) in East African contexts  Actions, influence and capacity building of system actors at the local education authority level in relation to school quality and improvement 4. Parent and Community Involvement  Increasing parental involvement in children’s learning (beliefs, strategies, obstacles) and how that can be best supported and sustained as a component of school improvement  Strengthening the effectiveness and breadth of parent participation in school governance, including the involvement of parents who have been marginalized for different reasons  Successful examples and impact of local and regional community mobilization activities and influence beyond individual schools on education policy and system support

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5. Education Systems Factors  Public school system capacity and strategies to identify and support school quality and improvement on a scalable and sustainable basis.  Comparison of characteristics, implementation and outcomes of alternative whole school models for improvement sponsored and implemented across East Africa by different agencies.  Understanding the roles played by non-state actors – for example in technical support, direct service provision, enhancing accountability and policy formulation – and their impact on improvements in equity and enhanced learning at the system and school levels.  Comparing different types and sequencing of ECD interventions (including both school-based and community programs) to assess their effectiveness, impact on learning and development and their relevance and sustainability in varying East African contexts.

6.0 OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH STUDIES The research studies to be funded under SESEA should each fulfill the following four objectives and the proposals are required to demonstrate this: 1. To contribute to the body of knowledge regarding existing interventions in the region, which contribute to: strengthened education systems; substantial improvements in school level practices; and improvements in boys’ and girls’ learning and development outcomes in East Africa; 2. To contribute to accessible, policy-relevant knowledge translation for example through production of knowledge translation, advocacy and mobilization materials and products aimed at policy makers, program implementers, donors; 3. Establish research partnerships and collaborations with individuals and institutions in East Africa; 4. To build implementation and positive impact in research capacity of partners in LMICs.

7.0 RESEARCH STUDY DELIVERABLES The research funded under this call should provide the specific deliverables listed below:  A detailed work plan;  Progress reports through regular communication, and written reports as per the provisions of the funding agreements;  Production of learning materials including policy briefs to share research findings in an accessible manner with policy makers, program implementers and donors;  A final report that summarises the findings of the research, including recommendations for further actions and implementation; and  Publications for a wide range of audiences, and confirmation of acceptance for publication of at least one-high quality peer reviewed article.

8.0 APPLICATION PROCESS AND SELECTION OVERVIEW 8.1 Two-Step Process Overview The application for the SESEA Research projects is a two-step process:  

Step 1: Submission of Expression of Interest (EOI). The applicants will be provided a period of six weeks to submit the EOIs. A short list of EOIs will be selected to submit a full research proposal. Step 2: Submission of Full Research proposal. Only those applications that are selected in Step 1 will be eligible to proceed to Step 2. A period of eight weeks will be provided for the submission of the full proposals. 5

The SESEA project office will also provide the following supports to interested applicants:  Webinar #1 (October 20th, 2014): Orientation to the work of the AKDN including about SESEA and to address questions from potential applicants.  Webinar #2 (January 19th, 2015): Address questions from shortlisted applicants as they develop the full research proposals.  Frequently Asked Questions A list of FAQs can be found on this link. The application, and accompanying resources, is available at https://akfc-grant-sesea.fluidreview.com/

8.2 Application Guidelines for Expression of Interest (EOI) The first step is for applicants to submit an EOI that will serve as an introduction to the research team outlining their eligibility for this application and the research topic plus an initial set of research questions that may be addressed. Incomplete applications will not be considered. The EOI should be approx. 1000 words, in the English language. It is recommended applicants clearly indicate the research topic plus an initial set of research questions that may be addressed. The EOI should indicate in which country or countries the study will be situated and the justification for this geographical focus. Methodology is an important part of the EOI and it is recommended that applicants indicate what approaches will be taken in regards to sampling, recruitment, data collection tools and analysis, and ethical considerations. Successful EOIs should also address the proposed research’s alignment with the overall SESEA objectives for the research studies, as outlined in Section 6.0. The lead institution/organization that is part of a partnership should provide documents to demonstrate they are a legally constituted body that is able to accept research funding. This includes (while recognizing that appropriate documentation varies by country): o For private institutions: letters patent, articles of incorporation, articles of association, certificates of incorporation, certificates of registration o For public institutions: legislation creating public sector or governmental bodies. Individuals will need to demonstrate their affiliation with their organization. If documentation is not in English an official translation must be submitted. Incomplete proposals and those that do not meet the partnership criteria will not be reviewed.

SUBMIT THE EXPRESSION OF INTEREST VIA HTTPS://AKFC-GRANT-SESEA.FLUIDREVIEW.COM/ DEADLINE: NOVEMBER 24TH 2014 Applicants will be notified by email if they are invited to submit full proposals; they will be provided with instructions on how to prepare and submit the full research proposal. Other applicants will be notified that their submissions were not selected. Notification of an invitation to submit full proposals will be by January 5th, 2015.

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9.3 Review Criteria for Step 1 External technical evaluators and the Project’s Learning and Dialogue Committee (LDC) will participate in the process of evaluating and shortlisting the EOI and selection of the final proposals. A set of specific criteria for evaluating the applications (see below) will be applied by the external evaluators and the LDC. 1. 2. 3. 4.

Address at least one of the research priority questions stated in section 5.0 Significance of the research topic and specific research questions Investigator knowledge and experience with research topic Investigator knowledge in, and demonstration of capacity to conducting research in LMIC and/or East Africa 5. Potential for new collaborations to form between research partners 6. Principal Investigator’s affiliated institutional support 7. Principal Investigator’s affiliated institution’s background/successes in global education research The table below presents the evaluation criteria and the weighting for the first stage of the process: Criteria Relevance of proposed research to the priority areas under the Call and feasibility to achieve results within 21 months duration of research project Capacity of the research team

Weighting 15

Quality of the definition of the collaboration between researchers from LMICs and HICs, including proposals for capacity building of LMIC research collaborators Appropriateness of methodological approach

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Potential relevance/impact of the proposed research findings for implementation and policy, and the plan for influencing policy action Demonstration of the potential for achieving impact in terms of strengthening education systems in East Africa Appropriateness of budget, and the timeliness of the proposed research activities

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Gender equality and other social diversity considerations integrated in project design and implementation Total score

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10

20

10 15

100 points

9.4 Application Guidelines for Full Proposals (Step 2) Step 2 involves submitting a full research proposal. Full proposals will be no more than 20 pages, only in English language with a clear description of the following (Appendices excluded):  Research topic/questions/hypotheses  Research methods  Timeline chart  Detailed Budget  Research team  What challenges are expected, if any, and how these will be addressed Full instructions of the application format is outlined below.

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SUBMIT THE FULL PROPOSAL BY WEBSITE AT HTTPS://AKFC-GRANT-SESEA.FLUIDREVIEW.COM/ DEADLINE: MARCH 2ND, 2015 Full proposals will undergo peer review by a panel of scientific peers within and outside of the AKDN in order to guide funding decisions. Based on this process, the AKFC will make the final award decision.

10.0 AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION AND CONTACT PERSON Interested applicants are encouraged to visit www.akdn.org for better knowledge and understanding of the work of the Aga Khan Development Network. Questions can be sent by email to Name: Isaac Musoke Position: M&E Specialist, SESEA Email: [email protected]

10.1 Award Notification and timelines The final date for submission of Expression of Interest is November 24th 2014 Applicants will be notified by email if they are invited to submit full proposals and be provided with instructions on how to prepare and submit the proposal. Other applicants will be notified that their EOI were not selected. Notification of an invitation to submit full proposals will be on January 5th, 2015. The full proposals must be submitted electronically to the address above, by the call deadline 1600 hours (EST) on March 2nd, 2015. A formal notification in the form of a letter will be provided to the principle investigator and affiliated institutions for successful proposals by April 6th, 2015. The letter signed by the AKFC officer is the authorizing document and will be sent via email to the grantee’s business official address. Selection of the awardees is not an authorization to begin performance. Any costs incurred before receipt of the letter of notification from AKFC are at the recipient's risk. Any application awarded in response to this RFP will be subject to the DUNS, SAM Registration, and Transparency Act requirements.

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11 APPLICATION GUIDELINES FOR FULL PROPOSAL 1. Face or Cover Page – Applicant should include the following:  Title of the research project  Names and affiliations of all researchers starting with the Principal Investigator  Contact information of the Principal Investigator (telephone, email, mailing address, Skype) 2. Page Two – Abstract  The research project’s scientific abstract should be no more than 500 words written in lay language.  The abstract will be shared with various stakeholders and should succinctly summarize the research topic, relevance/significance and methods. 3. Page Three –Table of Contents for the proposal on 4. Page Four - Detailed Budget Template and Budget Justification  Provide a detailed budget using budget template found in Appendix C  The budget should clearly identify costs for each calendar year (2014, 2015)  Budget should include all costs including human resources, travel, equipment, etc.  Maximum 13% overhead will be acceptable 5. Biographical Sketches of All Researchers/Investigators and any other Partners  Applicant should include bio-sketches of all collaborating investigators starting with the Principal Investigator and other partners  Each bio-sketch should not exceed 300 words  Full CVs of the research team members, starting with the Principal Investigator(s) should be included in the Appendices 6. Research Plan  The research plan should be no more than ten pages in length  Include the following sections:  Research purpose, questions  Discussion of theoretical basis and literature support  Significance of the research: – Does the project address an important problem or a critical barrier to progress in the field? – If the aims of the project are achieved, how will scientific knowledge, technical capability, and/or education systems in East Africa be improved? – How will successful completion of the aims change concepts, methods, school management, government and community school support procedures that drive the education systems in East Africa? – Does the project address an important problem in the LMIC(s) involved and is the technology appropriate for the target location(s) and population?  Research strategy addressing each of the criteria (research priorities, country(ies) of interest, significance)  Methods (description of sample, recruitment, data collection approaches, tools, analysis)  Literature references may follow and will not be counted towards the page limit 9

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Study timeline Research team member roles and how they will work together. Address the following and include full CVs in the Appendices – Are the principal investigators, collaborators, and other researchers well suited to the project? – If Early Stage Investigators or New Investigators, or in the early stages of independent careers, do they have appropriate experience and training? – If established, have they demonstrated an ongoing record of accomplishments that have advanced their field(s)? – If the project is collaborative, do the investigators have complementary and integrated expertise – Are their leadership approach, governance and organizational structure appropriate for the project? Role of partners Role of affiliated institution including any resource contribution by the institution Anticipated barriers and how these will be addressed Include in Appendix relevant tables, chart, research instruments

7. Human Subject Protection/Ethics Approval  How are each of the following addressed: – Risk to subjects – Adequacy of protection against risks – Potential benefits to the subjects and others – Importance of the knowledge to be gained – Data and safety monitoring  Describe where ethics approval will be sought including the process, time requirement  Describe any other approvals 8. Knowledge, Transfer, Exchange (KTE) and Capacity Development  1 page describing approach for KTE and capacity development  1 page describing how research findings will be disseminated (dissemination plan) 9. Letters of Support  Applicant should include appropriate letters of support from co-investigators, collaborators or consultants and the PI’s Department Chair or Division Director  Each institution/organization that is part of a partnership will need to provide documents to demonstrate that they are a legally constituted body that is able to accept research funding, and individuals will need to demonstrate their affiliation with their organization. 10. Appendices  CVs  Budget  Other

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11. APPENDIX APPENDIX A: PRIORITY RESEARCH QUESTIONS

TEACHING AND LEARNING What pedagogical and classroom management strategies are effective in improving the quality of learning in large primary school classes? What practices are most effective for student transitions from local to national languages and/or English as languages of instruction? What kinds of innovative non-traditional approaches to teaching and learning are happening in East African schools and classrooms and with what results?

What kinds of supports are needed by primary teachers to implement multilingual education effectively?

How are school systems and schools interpreting and responding to the demands for 21st Century Learning Skills in both policy and practice? What impact is this having on learning outcomes?

TEACHERS DEVELOPMENT What are the positive and negative factors affecting teacher attendance and absenteeism? How can these be best addressed? What policies and interventions have the most positive effects on teacher motivation and commitment to teaching and to their ongoing professional learning? What obstacles (policies, resources, working conditions, professional relations, etc.) hinder the implementation and sustainability of pedagogical practices targeted for teacher development? How can these be effectively addressed? How can teacher education programs best support improved classroom practices?

What sources and strategies for teacher learning have the greatest influence on teachers' classroom practice, including both pre- and in-service professional learning opportunities?

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SCHOOL MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP What capacities/skills do primary school head teachers need to effectively perform leadership and administrative roles in different contexts? What are the best ways of supporting leadership development on a sustainable basis for school system leaders beyond the school level? What school leadership practices have a positive impact on teacher training and development? How can gender equity be achieved in school and school system leadership? In what ways is education policy influencing leadership development and effectiveness?

EDUCATION SYSTEMS Are there alternative "models” for school improvement promoted and supported by 0n-governmental organizations alone or in collaboration with public school system actors? What evidence exists of their effectiveness for improving the quality of teaching and learning? How is local research capacity and knowledge used to inform education policy and practice across East Africa? How can this be best supported? What key areas of system-level capacity (human, financial and material, social, decisional) need to be strengthened in education systems in East Africa in order to achieve their goals for education quality and equity on large scale? What system-level strategies have proven most effective in scaling up and sustaining education change interventions identified as effective? What linkages exist between the formal and non-formal education sectors, and how can these linkages be supported and strengthened in the accomplishment of quality education?

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PARENTS AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT What kinds of community involvement (beyond student parents/caregivers) contribute to student learning and development and to school effectiveness? What strategies are effective in creating sustainable community partnerships and support? What kinds of interventions most effectively encourage parents to speak and read to young children to prepare them for school? How can communities be mobilized to influence system policy and actors for change? What strategies are effective in improving involvement of parents who are marginalized by socioeconomic, gender, linguistic or other cultural characteristics? How can parent/community attitudes and beliefs that hinder children's access and learning in schools be effectively addressed?

EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT What types of ECD programs have the strongest impact on student learning over time? What kinds of training and credentials for early childhood program personnel best support effective preprimary teaching? Which are the most cost-effective ECD programs (including school, community and family based and programs that include health and other supports beyond targeted stimulation and learning)? Which ECD program interventions best respond to family needs for childcare and education? What types of ECD programs have the strongest impact on student learning over time?

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